Josh Eccles

I woke up at 5 a.m., Monday, Oct. 9, to numerous missed calls from friends who lived in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa. Unsure of what was going on, I hopped on Facebook and began seeing friends from different circles post things like “we are safe and evacuated” and “we got out in time.” I started freaking out. I walked outside and saw the red glow on the horizon north of my parent’s house. There were other neighbors on the street, too. The next 24 hours were absolute chaos as people tried to figure out who lost homes, who was missing, which businesses were still standing, and how far-reaching the damage was.

My parent’s place is tucked away in the southwest corner of Santa Rosa, so our house became a place of refuge of sorts. We had family friends stop by to drop off stuff, have a cup of coffee, tell us their story. I feel like our role was to just sit and be with loved ones. If we see a need, then we will meet it.

This community was strong before this catastrophe, and it will come out the other end stronger than ever. Evacuation sites actually have had to turn away volunteers and donations — this is how generous my county is.

One of my main concerns is that those who are not rich will not be able to stick around to rebuild their lives. This was a thriving city with all sorts of socioeconomic diversity. Now I fear the only ones who will be able to stay will be those who were already welloff.

I love this city. I love these people. I just hope it can eventually return to what it once was.